Once Upon A Time- Season 5
by F-tailgirl
Summary: I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS- This is my take on season 5 which will be released later this year. I follow on from season 4 where the Author has been found and is currently with Rumpelstiltskin. Gold has something big planned, the only question is will Emma, Regina and the others be able to find their answers and stop him before its too late? (please forgive the corny summary)
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time fanfiction

Chapter 1- Turned Tables

Once upon a time…that's how the stories start. But that's in fairytails. It's not real. Or at least we've been led to believe It's not. It's what I was led to believe my whole life; up until one night, on my twenty eighth birthday when a knock sounded at my door. Some might call it a coincidence; I like to call it fate. The events which have taken place have shaped me into the person I am now. I have done things; incredible things, unbelievable things in the past years. Things I thought only lived inside the pages of books. Things children dream about at night. The kind of things that have the ability to make you stronger. Belief is a powerful thing. In order to do anything in this world, we have to believe in ourselves. It's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way; but I wouldn't do it any other way.

I wake in the morning to sunlight streaming across my face through the thin curtains. Henry stayed at Regina's last night which meant I could have the bed. I really do need to look into getting my own place. I glance at the clock, seven fifteen. My alarm isn't set to go off for another fifteen minutes; but since I'm awake I better get up. I get dressed quickly and head downstairs quietly, I don't want to wake Mary-Margaret and David. But of course they beat me to it. David is standing in the kitchen pouring coffee into two mugs and hot water into the third for Mary-Margaret. He looks up when he hears me and smiles lightly. Mary-Margaret is in the living area with Neal; rocking him gently in her arms. She doesn't notice me when I walk in, but I don't mind. I watch her for a few seconds. I see how intent she is; how happy she is. I see the love in her eyes and in her smile. It makes me think about Henry, how I didn't have any of that with him when I should have done. I look back to David who is staring at me with concern; he tries to mask it with a smile but he isn't very successful. My parents are about as subtle as a brick to the face.

"What?" I ask trying my best to make it seem like I have no idea what he's staring at me for. He raises his eyebrows; I forget how well they know me.

"You okay?" he asks anyway; I take mine and Mary-Margaret's mugs and place them on the coffee table; finally Mary-Margaret looks up and beams her ridiculously happy smile at me. It's far too happy for this time in the morning without coffee in my system yet.

"Good morning" she smiles; I can't help but smile back at her, no matter how much I might not want to right now.

"We'll see" I sigh, remembering the current problems of Storybrooke arising. After finding the Author and Regina getting the ink for him he disappeared to Rumpelstiltskin; as far as we know all he's done is heal Gold because when we tried to get into his shop it was protected by a spell; one so strong that not even Regina and I together couldn't break through. Regina is worried, with good reason. All we know is that Gold wanted the Author to rewrite everything so that the 'villains' got their happy endings at the 'heroes' expense. I glare down into my coffee mug trying to work out what Gold's plans are; but I come up blank which frustrates me.

"Is it hot in here?" David asks but I barely hear him. How can I possibly stop Gold if I can't even get into his shop? If my light magic can't even break the seal along with Regina's dark magic, how are we going to get in there? Right now I don't even think Belle can talk Gold round.

"Emma" David mutters and puts a hand on my shoulder; I jump and I realise it is actually pretty hot in here. Was it me? Did I let my magic get out of hand again?

"Sorry" is all I can say, I glance over to Mary-Margaret who seems completely oblivious. I stand up then and head for the door; I'm not going to find my answers sitting around here all day.

"I'll go with you" David says before kissing Mary-Margaret goodbye, she looks after him longingly; it's sweet, but still gross in the parent/daughter kind of way, which I guess I'm happy for, it's refreshing to know that not everything is quite so messed up. Even in a world full of magic, there are still some normal things. I get to the coat rack and stop as I'm about to pull my red leather jacket off the peg. I stroke the material for a moment. This jacket has been through so much with me. It's a reminder of everything I've faced, everything I've overcome and the dangers that are still out there. I grin as I swing it on.

David stops by Granny's as I wait at the bus stop for Henry to arrive. I promised to see him before he left for school. Regina doesn't think it's a good idea sending him to school when the danger is still out there, maybe it isn't, but we need to at least try to make things as normal as possible until the danger really strikes. Regina and Henry round the corner and Henry runs to me; throwing his arms around me when he gets close enough. For the first time all day I smile, really smile.

"Hey kid, have a good time?" I ask when he pulls away with his hair ruffled

"Yeah" he beams. He tells me about his night and Regina watches him with adoration in her eyes; if I ever doubted her feelings for him, now would be proof that I was wrong. The bus pulls up and he gives us both a quick hug before getting on. We watch it pull away; the same as we do every day.

"So" Regina starts, it's never good whenever she starts a conversation with 'so'

"So…?" I ask as I unlock the sheriff's station and attempt to busy myself with paperwork that I've already done.

"So what are we going to do about Gold?" she asks sounding irritated

"I don't know what we can do; we've tried breaking the seal around the shop, what else is there?" I say leaning on the edge of my desk; she flips her dark hair out of her face and sighs loudly.

"Well what if we had more than just our magic?" she says quietly with a hint of mischievousness in her voice; I narrow my eyes at her slightly and she takes a deep breath.

"Maleficent" she answers my unspoken question

"Are you crazy? What makes you think she would even help us?" I exclaim and she holds her hands up in mock surrender.

"Maleficent is one of the most powerful people I know, apart from us and Zelena, but since Zelena doesn't have magic anymore we don't have many more options, unless Mary-Margaret found a way to harness all that hope she keeps rambling on about" she explains; I hate to admit that it makes sense. But the only problem is actually getting Maleficent to help us in the first place. She just got her daughter back and is probably more focused on catching up with her rather than helping us break into Gold's shop. But like Regina said, we don't have many more options.

"Okay fine, you go talk to Maleficent and I'll ask Belle to see what she can dig up about it" I sigh as we both head out of the station. We run into David with two cups of coffee on the way out. He hands me one.

"Where are you going?" he asks looking slightly confused

"Regina thinks Maleficent might be able to help us and I'm going to recruit Belle, again" I tell him, he nods once. Something seems to be bothering him; I know he'll tell me in his own time but I don't like feeling that people keep things from me, especially my own parents.

"You go on, I'll catch up with you later" I tell Regina and she leaves without a word, she's become very understanding lately, it's almost unsettling.

"What's wrong?" I ask a little more firm than I had intended. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair as he continues into the station; I follow.

"It doesn't feel right" he says, vague, as always.

"Well yeah, Gold has the Author locked up in his shop protected by a spell we can't crack, it would be weird if you felt fine with this going on" I answer and he looks at me, something crosses his face but I'm not entirely sure what. Worry? Fear?

"I mean it doesn't feel right bringing Maleficent into this, she's not exactly been on our side through all this" he frowns and takes a sip of coffee. He's right, of course. I still don't know where she stands with my parents, but that's not my business. I haven't even had a chance to talk to Lilly since we've been back and I don't know how they're getting on. If things had gone horribly wrong then Maleficent is going to be far less cooperative; but if she and Lilly figured things out I'm hoping she'll be more inclined to stop Gold. Damn I sound like my mom.

"We don't have very many options. If that seal is too strong for both me _and_ Regina, then something else is at play here" I explain and he dips his head.

"I guess we're stuck doing the only thing we always do, waiting and seeing what happens" he mutters, this does not sound like my father. My parents are forever going on about hope and how we have to fight because we're 'heroes'. This defeatist attitude isn't my father.

"No, we do the thing we've always done, we fight. Have hope" I say quietly, he looks up with widened eyes then and a small smile playing on the corners of his mouth. He hugs me tight. It seems as though all the anger I had for my parents only a few days ago never even happened. But it made me miss them. It made me realise how much I need their constant optimistic attitude and their rambles about hope and heroes. I just missed _them._ I pull away and give him a reassuring smile before walking out of the station and toward the library.

By the looks of things Belle isn't here yet. But the library door is unlocked. Belle is the only one who has a key. I unclip my gun holster and put my hand on the handle; my finger curled around the trigger. I push the door open with my free hand and walk inside. The shelves are stacked neatly. The trolley with the books yet to be put away is empty. Did someone break in here to clean? I hear a footstep and then Will walks around the corner. He jumps when he sees me and I clip my holster back up.

"You've really gotta stop breaking in" I sigh as he smirks at me.

"It's not breaking in when you have a key" he answers back quickly

"Belle gave you the key?" I ask narrowing my eyes slightly; I know Belle and I know how much she loves this library, I know she would never give that key up to anyone, not even her new boyfriend, or whatever they're calling each other.

"Well not exactly, I kind of borrowed it without permission" he grins as he puts a couple more books onto the shelves.

"To tidy up?" I ask incredulously

"Figured I'd help Belle out" he replies with a gentler town and a soft look in his eyes; it's refreshing to see someone like Will who is usually so macho and tough become soppy over someone. But then again Belle has the ability to do that to men; look at her and Rumpelstiltskin, he was the last person I expected to fall victim to a woman's ways.

"Well in that case I can't arrest you again" I answer and he laughs a little.

"I'd just convince your dear mom to let me go again" he chuckles, I decide to ignore this comment because it is kind of funny, not that I will show that. I go to walk out but stop halfway and turn to him again.

"Tell Belle I'm looking for her, please?" I ask and he nods in agreement.

I go back to Gold's shop. There must be something with the protection spell that I'm missing. Usually protection spells appear only on the doorways. I walk around to the back of the shop; the fence meets with the wall so I climb up. I'm hoping to see whether the roof has been protected, if not then we might be able to create some kind of hole to get through. I reach out to grab hold of the drain pipe to climb up but the protection spell explodes from my hand and launches me backward. I hit the concrete hard; the air is knocked out of me and I'm left choking.

"Emma! What happened? Are you okay?" a pleasantly familiar voice shouts as he runs to my side; I can't speak so I just nod and scramble to my feet. Killian wraps his arms around me. He smells like grass and soap; not exactly what I imagined a pirate smelling like, but then again he hasn't been at sea for a while now.

"I'm fine" I gasp when I catch my breath while I glare at the building.

"What were you doing?" he asks sounding worried

"I was trying to see whether the protection spell covered the whole building" I tell him and he looks at the building with curiosity.

"Aren't most protection spells white?" he asks as if he realised something

"Yeah, why?"

"Just then, when you touched it, it was black" he mutters. He's right, I throw a pebble at the building just to be sure, the protection comes out as black before throwing the pebble back across the road. It's obvious this is no ordinary protection spell. Not only does it keep physical beings out, but Regina can't even teleport into there with that purple smoke thing she does. It blasts anything that touches it; it's all the way around the building and it's black. I call Regina.

"What is it? Did something happen?" she asks sounding her usual impatient self

"Kind of, can you come to the station?" I ask and she takes a moment to answer

"I'll be there soon" she says and the line goes dead.

Killian and I rush back to the station. David is leaning on his desk with the tv remote in his hand glaring at the screen. Black and white images show Gold's shop.

"Did you find anything?" I ask as he looks up when we walk in.

"No, nothing. Nobody has gone in or come out of that shop" he grumbles and rubs his temples.

"What did you find?" he asks

"The protection spell isn't white like normal, it's black" Killian answers

"Black? What like dark magic?" David questions

"Yeah but even dark magic protection spells come up as white when touched" I tell him as he strokes his chin a little. A few moments' later Regina, Maleficent and Lilly walk in.

"What is it?" Regina asks cutting straight to the point as I expected her to. We explain to her about the protection spell and she's silent for a moment.

"A protection spell like that can't be done by just one person" Maleficent says after a few minutes of silence.

"Well he's done it" I shrug; just then my phone rings.

"Belle?" I ask immediately

"Yeah, what's up?" she asks sounding worried

"I need you to try to find something, anything on this protection spell on Gold's place, it's all the way around the building, it's black and it_" she cuts me off

"I think I know what it is, it's not just a protection spell, it's a blocking spell; it blocks out magic, if someone were to be in there, they wouldn't be able to use magic" she explains hurriedly

"But nobody has come out or gone into the shop for days" I protest

"Then he must still be inside, regaining his strength for when you actually do break through, but here's the thing; it takes three dark magic users to create the spell in the first place, which means only three dark magic users can bring it down" she says

"Which means I can't use light magic" I sigh heavily; I can feel every pair of eyes in the room watching me as I pace back and forth listening to Belle.

"Exactly"

"Okay, thanks Belle" I say and hang up the phone.

"Well?" Regina says; her being so impatient really is annoying sometimes.

"It's a blocking spell, meaning anyone inside can't use magic until it's been broken" I tell them

"So that would mean he's useless in there until we get through?" Killian asks and I nod once

"He's biding his time" Maleficent sighs as if she's gripped by sudden realisation

"Not just that, apparently it takes three dark magic users to create the spell and no less the bring it down" I explain

"So how would he be able to put it up in the first place?" Regina asks with her brow furrowed in frustration

"All we can assume is that the Author made him stronger; which is a problem for everyone" Maleficent replies

"So why don't we just leave him in there? If he can't use magic in there then what's the problem?" Lilly asks

"Because he still has the Author, he could still get him to write whatever he wants from inside that shop" I answer

"So how are we going to break through when only two of us can use dark magic?" Maleficent asks sounding bored; Regina's eyes light up then and a smirk pulls at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh I think I know" she says slowly and looks toward Lilly. The rest of us follow her gaze. It's true, Lilly is the only other person who can use dark magic. We know she has the ability since we've already seen her turn into a dragon.

"What? You're joking" she protests with wide eyes

"Think about it, you're the only other person who can use dark magic, we _need_ to get into that shop" Regina says firmly

"Well find another way because I can't do it, I don't even know how to use magic" she says half shouting in what sounds like fear.

"No offence but you've already been a dragon" Killian points out and her lips press into a hard thin line.

"Because I lost my temper"

"We'll just have to teach you to use it then" Regina smiles; Maleficent seems to be nodding along, she hasn't disagreed like I half expected her to. They argue about it for a few more minutes before Lilly finally gives in. I don't know how long this could take, but we need to get into that building. We head our into the woods where nobody is likely to be hurt when Lilly loses control, which she will because it's her first time trying and nobody is perfect on their first time. Killian and David went to see if they can find something, anything which might be useful to us.

Regina and I sit on a fallen tree while Maleficent tries to teach her the basics. For Regina it's all moving too slow; I kind of agree. Magic is daunting, I get that, but Lilly has already shown potential when she turned into the dragon.

"Is there no way to speed this up?" Regina grumbles under her breath

"We're open to suggestions" I mutter back as I watch Lilly trying to set a small bunch of twigs on fire and Maleficent being nicey nice about it. It's strange seeing her like this. Both of them really, it's odd seeing Maleficent so soft with that motherly look in her eyes which I see in Mary-Margaret and Regina. And Lilly, looking so childlike and frail for once. This is a lot for her to take in, I know that, but I hope she understands why we're doing this, why it's so important for us to find the Author before he writes the 'villains' into 'heroes' and vice versa. Regina sighs loudly.

"This is taking too long" she snaps and holds out her hand with her palm facing upwards and her fingers curled slightly; I know that sign all too well. Fire gathers in the palm of her hand and without warning; she aims it at Lilly's feet and releases. Lilly jumps back and turns her glare on Regina.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Maleficent snaps; she reminds me of a lioness protecting her cub at that moment when she steps in front of Lilly, shielding her from any more fireballs.

"I'm giving her motivation; dark magic is rage, we get her angry, she can use it, you should know that" Regina reasons, it's scaring me how much I'm actually inwardly agreeing with her lately.

"Maybe fireballs isn't the best way to go about it, unless you want a dragon rampaging through town" I say and she gives me a sideways glance; I can't let her think that I actually do agree with her.

"Thank you" Maleficent gloats

"Well find a way to speed it up, we don't have time for this" Regina says surprisingly calmly

"I'm trying to teach her how to control it" Maleficent rolls her eyes

"Teach her that later, we're in a hurry in case you haven't noticed, all we need her to do is stand there absorbing the energy creating that spell" she explains in a raised voice while Lilly stands glowering at her with her hands on her hips. The small pile of twigs begins to smoke.

"You expect me to get my daughter riled up?" Maleficent argues

"If it gets the job done some time this century, yes" Regina snaps

"Guys, I think she's getting it" I say with a small smile as I stare at the twigs which is now a small fire. Maleficent turns around and grins at her daughter, Regina sits there looking smug, as you would expect.

Outside the shop Lilly seems nervous. There isn't much I can say that can make her feel better; so I don't try. They stand in a row with their hands out. Regina even looks nervous and I don't expect that from her. Lilly copies them and then the magic starts pouring into their hands; leaving the building. Their hands all start to shake at the overload of power. A small bead of sweat drips down Lilly's forehead. Time passes painfully slowly. The three of them are struggling to keep this up. Lilly looks almost in pain and Regina looks like she's getting more determined by the second. Finally, after what seems like forever, they break through the protection spell. Lilly drops to her knees, Maleficent rushes to her side panting. Regina just looks at me and we both rush into the shop. I have my gun in hand and aiming straight ahead. There's nobody here. I check the back room, still nobody. How could they have gotten out? Nothing was shown on the footage of anyone leaving.

"I don't understand" I mutter under my breath

"So where is Gold?" Regina asks aloud, more to herself than to me.

"It was a distraction" a male voice sounds from the door; I swing around to see Killian standing in the doorway looking very serious; trying not to get distracted by the intensity in his eyes is difficult at the best of times.

"While we were busy finding a way into here, he's had time to hide" I finish bitterly.

"Any ideas where to look next?" Regina frowns and looks at me for the answers I don't have. I don't know where he is. I don't know how he got out of here without being spotted. I don't know and it's irritating me. I'm supposed to know these things. All we can do is concentrate on finding Gold and the Author before something terrible happens.


	2. Chapter 2- A Dance With The Dark One

Chapter 2- A dance with the dark one

"What do you want me to do?" Red asks wide eyed as she glances around Gold's shop. We couldn't think of where he could have possibly gone to. Maleficent and Lilly searched his cabin; no luck. Regina's locator spell was blocked. Our last option is hoping that Red can pick up his scent. I hand her Gold's scarf and she inhales deeply; wrinkling her nose slightly.  
"Just do your best" I mumble; my optimism has dissipated a lot within the last few hours. People are looking to me for answers and I don't know what to tell them. They want me to be the saviour, they want me to help them. But I don't know how. All I can do is hunt for Gold and hope we find him in time. I haven't even thought about the consequences if we don't, or if we're too late by the time we actually find him. Henry wants to help; he always wants to help. But it's too dangerous for him, he went back home to Mary-Margaret, who too wants to help, but with Neal needing round the clock attention she can't get out since everyone is too panicked to really look after a baby.

"Hey, relax Swan, we'll find him" Killian says quietly, low enough so only I can hear, as if it's some sort of secret. I can feel his breath on my neck, he's much closer than I thought. I put my arms around him and bury my face into his shoulder. I don't like seeming weak; but sometimes he gives me strength. The smell of grass and soap fills my nose, I can't help but smile, not that I could ever let anyone know that.

"I've got a scent!" Red shouts from the street outside, interrupting the moment between Killian and I. We run outside without a word and find Red standing at the crossroads. She turns right and we follow closely behind her. Walking through the town now I release just how much of it I haven't noticed. It's like I've been walking around with blinkers on since I arrived. I put on a brave face. Not showing how scared I actually am. What would Gold want the Author to write? I know he wants his happy ending, how doesn't? But at what cost will he achieve that? An irritation flares in my chest for Regina, she cut Lily's hand containing my darkness, she put it into the ink giving it what it needed to be magical again. Any why? Because Regina wanted _her_ happy ending. She wanted to make Zelena disappear so she could live happily ever after with Robin. I don't blame her for wanting her happy ending, I just hate how she did it and then choosing not to go through with it. Something inside of her clicked that day. She's been so concerned about the unborn child; she's even taken to giving Zelena luxuries in her padded cell to relieve stress so it doesn't affect the baby. I wonder if she's planning on taking the baby on as her own, but will Zelena allow that? I can feel Killian watching me. But I can't let myself be distracted.

Red follows the trail to the docks and to one of the old warehouses. She reaches out the open the door but David stops her, thinking it might be spelled. Good thinking. He tosses a handful of grass at the building; it's quieter than a pebble and if Gold is inside, we don't want to warn him, if he doesn't already know. The building isn't protected; I gesture for Red to go back to Granny's, I don't want her getting caught in the crossfire. I reach out for the handle; but the door opens quickly on its own. Slowly, we make our way inside the building. I can feel my heart thumping rapidly in my chest. I have my gun up; David and Killian have their swords to hand and Regina has a fireball in each hand and a look of distain. The place seems completely empty, but I can feel Gold's energy. It's different than before, it feels off. Not that Gold's energy has ever felt normal before, but this is worse somehow, darker, what could possibly be darker than the dark one himself?

None of us has said a word. We're trying to listen for him; some sign that he's here with the Author. A floorboard creeks from the higher level. Regina and I exchange a knowing glance.

"You two need to get out of here" I whisper as quietly as I can; David and Killian look confused and Killian sets his jaw stubbornly.

"You're joking Swan" he mutters; I knew he'd protest against it, but I can't have him or David getting hurt. The energy in here feels far too menacing to just be the dark one, something else is in play here and the only ones who are likely to be able to do anything about it is Regina and me, apart from Maleficent but she said she was done helping when Lily passed out after breaking the protection spell on Gold's shop.

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere" David adds; Regina rolls her eyes and goes to flick her wrist, but I stop her, I won't allow her to freeze them in place. She sighs heavily and continues toward the stairs. Another floorboard creeks. The atmosphere is cold and quiet; tense. This is not like Gold, usually he would show himself, which only leads me to think that he isn't actually here; but Red's nose has never been wrong before. A high pitched laugh sounds from the rafters; I crane my neck back to look but whatever it is has vanished. A barrel falls over at the far end of the room; Regina's getting increasingly impatient and lets off one of her fireballs toward the back wall. Another laugh sounds as the fire hits the barrel but merely sends it rolling away.

"Get out here Gold!" she shouts; another laugh. He's playing with us.

"Why should I do that dearie?" his high pitched voice sounds from all angles in the room. We stand back to back, if he comes at us we have every side covered. The voice isn't his normal voice, it's much higher, I've heard it before; when Killian and I went back in time and met Rumpelstiltskin as the dark one, with his skin covered in scales like a lizard; has he somehow gone back to that form?

"To prove you're not a coward maybe?" Killian says with a bitter edge in his voice; if anyone is likely to provoke Gold into showing himself, it's him. Another laugh; he laughs way too much, it's very annoying.

"If only I cared enough" he replies in a lower voice which sounds more like himself, but I don't like the seriousness in his tone. A purple haze appears in front of us and out of it walks Gold; wearing his old clothes from his dark one days in the past. He stands with his hands behind his back and a smug smile on his face. His skin is not reptile like as I expected; he looks almost normal.

"Clearly enough to show yourself now" Regina smirks; he turns his head slowly to glare at her through narrowed eyes.

"Why have you come?" he asks quietly; this is not like Gold.

"Isn't it obvious?" I answer as I point my gun toward him; he smiles a wide toothy smile and laughs.

"Oh you can't hurt me with that dearie" he grins while wagging his finger at me.

"You wanna see about that?" I retort and he laughs. It's unnerving how often he's laughing; either he's very confident or very stupid.

"How did you do that spell?" Regina asks out of nowhere

"I don't think that's the most of your worries, do you?" he smirks

"What is then?" she asks slowly, lowering her hands as if in surrender. Gold starts walking then, just pacing slowly back and forth over and over again.

"You should be worrying about where your saviour has vanished to" he grins menacingly and in that exact moment; I'm surrounded by a puff of smoke and the next moment I'm back in Gold's shop. I aim for Gold and my finger curls around the trigger; I squeeze, the gun jolts back but I'm ready for it. The bullet finds its way into Gold's shoulder; hot pain flashes through my arm. I cry out and Gold laughs. My gun crashes to the ground and Gold scoops it up in one swift motion. Blood starts trickling down my arm; I pull my hand away from the wound covered in crimson.

"What did you do?" I shout in a shaky voice as my knees give out beneath me and I crumple to the wooden floor in a heap. The impact with the ground sends fire rippling through my arm and chest and I grit my teeth together to stop myself from screaming.

"I merely used a linking spell; you are now linked to me, any harm that anyone inflicts on me, will go through to you, clever eh?" he giggles; I never thought I would ever hear a man giggle.

"Why?" I gasp through my clenched jaw as I kneel there on the ground holding my shoulder.

"Well isn't it obvious?" he laughs

"No, I mean why haven't you used the Author to give you what you want?" I reply shakily

"Oh that, well, since you're stuck with me I may as well tell you, as I've had time to think about it, I realise that simply wanting a happy ending is a little…short sighted shall we say" he replies making ridiculous hand movements

"So what do you really want?"

"Well, I've already had him heal me of my black heart, the problem is now I'm not entirely consumed by darkness, I feel strange, I feel regret all of a sudden and I don't much like it" he explains slowly as he sits down on that raggedy old bed of his and crosses his legs, sitting tall with his head held high like, he reminds me of Regina.

"Not growing a conscious are you Gold?" I say with a small smile

"No. You see I can make that Author write anything I want, hell, I can make myself the Author if I wanted to; the truth is I don't particularly want to be the dark one anymore" he says; his tone suddenly serious.

"You'll die, not that I'm complaining mind you" I stammer as I struggle to my feet.

"Not if the Author makes me immortal"

"And your power?"

"I will be stronger than ever" he smirks

"So really it's not about being the dark one or not, you just don't want to be controlled by a dagger" I predict, his smile tells me I'm right. I wave my hand over my wound to cast a healing spell; but I can't feel my magic in my veins anymore. He's taken my magic? How? He shouldn't be able to do that.

"Something wrong dearie?" he giggles

"What have you done?" I growl through gritted teeth

"Oh yes, that. Well since we are now linked I figured it be best you don't have use of your magic, don't worry it's not gone permanently, check your wrist" he replies; I look down to see the black leather cuff wrapped around my arm. I don't even try to get it off because I know it's useless.

Kilian isn't going to stop coming after Gold until I'm back with him; that's what Gold's counting on. He wants Killian to try to kill him; because that would mean that he'd kill me, or close enough to it. And then Killian would never forgive himself which could cause him to go off the rails and back into his old ways. This is what Gold wants; chaos.


	3. Chapter 3- Liquid Gold

Chapter 3: Liquid Gold

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Killian:

"Where the bloody hell are they?" I shout in desperation as I glance around the warehouse; how could I have let this happen? I'm supposed to be protecting her and instead she gets kidnapped by the one man we're trying to stop? I run my hand through my hair trying to think of where they could have gone.

"Calm down, they can't have gone far" Regina speaks low and carefully; David turns on her then with anger in his eyes, she's not just the saviour here, nor is she just my girl, she's David's daughter and Regina's friend.

"Can you find them?" David asks while panting with panic, can't say I exactly blame him. Regina nods quickly and heads for the stairs and out the building; David and I follow closely behind. She looks confused as we jog up the main street; it seems like we're heading for Gold's shop.

"Surely he wouldn't bring her here, he knows this is the first place we'll look" I question and Regina shoots me a troubled look, she's worried and it's showing, she's not the kind of woman to allow herself to show her emotions in a time like this, so why is she now?  
Fire catches in Regina's palm; people from the town walking by stop for a second to watch what's happening but quickly think better of it and hurry into the nearest building. David and I draw our swords as Regina opens the door. Inside it seems quiet and empty; but I'm not the only one who has the feeling that we're not actually alone.  
"I knew it wouldn't take long" Gold's voice sounds from the back room before he walks through the curtain with Emma at his side with his hand wrapped tightly around her arm, her jacket has a small hole in the shoulder and what looks like blood trickling down her arm slowly. I want run to her; but it isn't as simple as that, it never is. She looks calm, pissed off almost; but her eyes are terrified, worried, pleading and pain. She doesn't want us here. But why? Has he threatened her with something?  
"Why here? You knew we'd come" Regina snaps, the anger in her voice seeping through her calm demeanour.  
"I was counting on it" Gold grins devilishly; his grip tightens on Emma's arm and she winces in response but doesn't try to move out of his grip, why?  
"Let her go crocodile" I growl quietly; Gold turns his attention to me now, his eyes narrowing and his mouth twisting into a smile, showing off his teeth.  
"Come and get her, dearie" he says confidently; I see Regina's wrist move in the corner of my eye, a knife glides through the air toward Gold's chest, Emma's eyes widen and she stiffens all over, as if she's waiting for the impact, Gold's eyes glitter with mischievousness. The blade buries itself in the right side of Gold's chest; but he makes no sound of pain or even flinches. Instead Emma's face twists in agony and she grabs at her chest with her free hand as if holding a wound. Blood starts pouring from her chest and she opens her mouth as if she's screaming, but no sound comes out. Her eyelids flutter shut and she drops to the floor. I start to rush to her side but Gold flicks his hand and sends both David and me flying back into the door. Pain shoots through my back and I collapse in a heap on the floor. I scramble to my feet in rage and lunge for him; but I stop myself. That wound should have appeared on Gold, but instead Emma got the full force of it. Regina grabs my arm and hauls me back next to her.  
"They're linked, you try to hurt Gold you'll kill her" she says in a low voice. David is itching to go for him next to me but he just watches Emma as she lies perfectly still on the ground, a pool of scarlet forming around her, turning her hair pink. I feel my eyes grow hot; do not crack, I can't crack. Gold laughs, a piercing sound which makes my blood boil.  
"Looks like I didn't need to kill the saviour after all, the evil queen did it for me" he smirks before disappearing in a puff of smoke. We all rush to Emma's side. Regina casts a healing spell but she doesn't wake up.  
"Swan! Come on Love wake up, please" I plead quietly; I can feel David's eyes on me but I don't care, all I care about is Emma and getting her to wake up. She can't be dead. She can't die that easily.  
"Why isn't she waking up?" I yell at Regina; she just glares at me through narrowed eyes and tries another healing spell. Again, Emma doesn't open her eyes. David pushes me out of the way then so he can press his hands to her chest and begin CPR. I blow air into her mouth but there is no response.  
"Swan, listen to me, you can't give up. You have to come back, you have too much to fight for, your son, your parents, your brother, your friends…me" I whisper as I smooth her hair out of her face. I can't lose her, none of us can. Regina stares down at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. Her face twists then into anger and she pushes both David and me back and leans over Emma.  
"Come on Emma, is this all I had to do to get rid of you? Don't make it so easy for me, come on!" she shouts as she taps her hand against the side of Emma's face over and over again shouting 'come on' in desperation. David falls backward against the counter and stares at the wall while his eyes well. I put my hand on Regina's shoulder, she's crying too, and so am I, I almost hadn't noticed. Regina sits back on her heels and puts her hands to her face. She's gone. We can't bring her back. I was supposed to keep her safe. I was supposed to be there for her. I was supposed to do…something, anything to keep her alive. She was supposed to live, not me or Regina or David, _she_ was the saviour and she should have been the one to save everyone. Pain washes through me; my heart aches, I place my hand over my heart, I wish I could rip it out, to stop the agony, but that would mean I wouldn't feel for her, and I do, I really do. I don't know what's worse, the fact that she's gone, or that I never got the chance to tell her how much I love her before she died, far too early. Tears drip down my cheeks and onto her chest. I lean down and put my forehead to hers. She's still warm. I take her hand in mine and place it over my heart.  
"Swan, I love you" I whisper into her soft skin before pressing my lips to her forehead; a feeling washes through me and I feel her fingers twitch against my chest. I pull back to see her staring up at me with wide eyes and a small smile on her lips. My heart lifts and I can't stop the smile on my face or the tears rolling down my cheeks, the only difference is that now they're tears of joy and relief, not despair and agony. She pushes herself up and wraps her arms tightly around my neck. I hold her tight and close to me as she buries her face into the crook of my neck.  
"Better late than never" she whispers into my skin and I laugh gently  
"Aye love" he murmur; she pulls away then smiling and hugs her dad. Regina watches on grinning and gets to her feet gracefully. I join her as David and Emma hug on the floor. A darkness crosses Regina's features and her mouth twists into a thin line, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides, her knuckles turning white. Emma gets to her feet and Regina's hard expression fades into that of relief and…fondness? I wasn't sure I'd ever see Regina look at anyone other than Henry like that.  
"We need to work out how the hell we're going to get rid of Gold if every time we attack him, you get hurt" she sighs heavily, relief fading from her face.  
"We'll figure it out, first thing though, I need a shower" Emma frowns as she holds up a piece of blood soaked blonde hair and drops it in disgust. "And I need to figure out how to get this off" she says holding up her arm to reveal the black cuff from Pan. Regina rolls her eyes and sighs again, she does that way too often. She waves her hand over the cuff and it shatters into a million pieces.  
"How did you…?" David questions and Regina gives him a smirk  
"Miss light magic here might be good, but I'm better" she grins. I wrap my arm around Emma's shoulders and we walk out of the shop and back to her apartment. I've already lost her twice, I refuse to lose her again. But this time she actually died, I feel so much more protective over her now and she's going to find it irritating. But if it comes down to Emma being irritated or safe, I'll pick safe every time. My only worry is that I can't protect her. She's only ever been in danger around me; what if the safest thing for her is not having me around? My chest tightens at the thought of not being with her. I'm being selfish. I know that, but after just losing her, I know now I can't be without her. She is my happy ending and I have to do everything in my power to keep it that way. Whatever Gold has planned, I can't and won't lose Emma again. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.


End file.
